Village of Demons
by Raye Sun
Summary: Ten years ago, Kyuubi's chakra overwhelmed Naruto and Hinata was killed. Now a team from Konoha set out to investigate rumors of demons plaguing a nearby village. Surprises await as they find the unexpected. NaruHina, slight SasuSaku


**Raye Sun: **I know, I know, I'm horrible for starting another Naruto fic when I haven't finished the others I have yet. But the other two have hit a dead end and I have a really great idea for how this one will go. I even already have an ending in mind! So, hopefully, that'll help guide me and prevent me from getting the writers block I'm way too prone to. Also, this story may seem like a sequel but it's meant to stand alone. Someday I may write a prequel to it but for now it's meant to be read without one. So without further ado, let's begin! Don't forget to review please!

**Chapter 1**

Sakura gathered up the papers littering her desk and went to report to the Hokage. As Lady Tsunade's pupil, she had been given a lot of responsibility in the village and more desk work than she cared to have. It was supposed to be an honor to be ranked so highly at such a young age, but sometimes she missed the more frequent missions of her past.

Her heels clicked as she walked through the hallways, nodding politely to the fellow ninjas she passed along the way. Upon reaching the Hokage's door, she knocked and waited.

"What is it?"

"It's me Tsunade-sensei. I've got those reports you asked for." Sakura replied.

A long pause followed until finally she heard, "Well, come in."

Sakura pushed open the door and sighed as she saw the Hokage slumped over her desk half passed out next to a bottle of sake. She moved the various bottles and cups to the side of the desk with practiced ease and set the papers down in front of Tsunade.

Slowly, Tsunade's head lifted up and red rimmed eyes looked at Sakura.

"Thanks, you can go now."

Sakura gave a quick bow and left the room. It pained her to see her sensei this way. She was a shadow of her former self. Where in the past she had gotten drunk simply to relieve stress and let loose, now she did it to forget, and when she went into these depressed stupors for long periods at a time, it was up to Shizune and herself to run the village. It wasn't easy making the council think everything was okay, but they managed. They had been managing for ten years…

Sakura looked up at the cloudless blue summer sky as she left the tower on her way home.

"Ten years…" she mumbled to herself. "Has it really been that long?"

Happy memories flooded through her as she began to remember her hyperactive blonde teammate and she felt a smile pull at her lips thinking of the antics he used to pull. The memories didn't last long however as she was brought back to reality. Brought back to that horrible day ten years ago that had changed everything…

Flashback (AN: Takes place when the rookie nine are 17. Sasuke is back in the village.)

"_Really Granny, I'm fine! Nothing to worry about!" Naruto exclaimed as he smiled._

_Tsunade scrutinized him, "Naruto, you are most certainly not fine. That last battle you had on your mission damaged Kyuubi's seal. Everyone who knows you can tell you're not acting yourself. You need to stay here until I figure out how to reinforce the seal."_

_Suddenly Naruto's eyes flashed an angry red, "I said I was fine you old hag! Now leave me alone!" he yelled as he stormed out of the room._

_Sakura who had been standing next to Tsunade brought her hands to her mouth in shock._

_Tsunade looked up at her, "Quickly, gather everyone you can and go after him! He's unstable right now and could hurt himself or others!"_

_Sakura nodded quickly and ran to find Naruto. Along the way she managed to recruit Sasuke, Neji, Lee, and Shikamaru into the search. After searching the entire village and questioning everyone they could, they were told that Naruto had been seen just outside the village gates with Hinata. _

_Neji's eyes narrowed with worry. Naruto and Hinata had started dating about six months ago after she finally told him how she felt. However, he knew Hinata well. Even if Naruto were dangerous to be around, she would insist on trying to help him. He feared that this time his cousin's kind heart might get her hurt. _

_As the group made their way through the village gates, Neji led the way, searching the trees with his byakugan. About a mile away from the village he gasped and veered off to the left._

_Sasuke, who had been the one following most closely behind him and been the only one to hear the gasp. It frightened him. He knew very well Neji was not one that showed emotion easily, and the gasp made him dread what they were heading towards._

_Sakura nearly threw up when she saw the sight in the clearing. There, lying in a ray of sunlight, was the dismembered body of a young woman. She was mutilated beyond all recognition to the point where even Neji's byakugan couldn't pick up any trace of chakra. However, he did see the unmistakable red chakra of Kyuubi staining the area._

_Sakura cried out with dread as something caught the edge of her vision. It was a silver bracelet lying on the grass shining in the sun. It was covered in blood. Sakura knew that bracelet very well. She had given it to Hinata on her last birthday… Suddenly realizing who the mutilated body belonged to, she screamed._

End Flashback

Shaking her head, Sakura tried to rid herself of the unpleasant memories. She hadn't wanted to believe it at the time, but there could have been no other explanation. Kyuubi must have taken over Naruto and killed Hinata. Since that day, there has been a warrant out for Naruto's arrest, but he had never been seen or heard from. Many people were beginning to think that the sheer force of Kyuubi's chakra had killed him.

Upon reaching her house, she tried to put on a pleasant face.

"I'm home!" she announced upon walking in the door.

The sound of small feet running came closer, "Mommy!" a five-year-old girl cried as she launched herself at Sakura.

Sakura smiled as she hugged her daughter. "How was your day Midori-chan?"

"Fine!" the little girl announced. "Auntie Ino was lots of fun!"

Sakura smiled as her best friend walked in from the other room, "Thanks for watching her today Ino. I can't believe the babysitter cancelled on me at the last minute."

"No problem." Ino said, "I don't mind, right Midori-chan?"

"Uh-huh!" Midori smiled as she nodded.

"Though if you ask me," Ino, said, "shouldn't you have gotten _someone else_ to watch her?"

Sakura sighed as she put Midori down, "Honey, why don't you say goodbye to your Aunt Ino and go to your room? I'll call you when I have dinner ready."

"Awwww!" Midori whined. She ran over to Ino and hugged her legs, "Bye Auntie Ino!"

"Bye-bye Midori-chan." Ino said as Midori turned and left.

Once Sakura saw her daughters black hair round the corner and heard the door closing, she looked back at Ino, "It's not that simple…"

"Sure it is," Ino responded, "You just say 'Hey Sasuke, how about doing a fair share of the work and acting like a father for once?"

Sakura smiled sadly, "I… just can't… He has no clue how to act around Midori. It's not like her arrival was planned you know…"

Ino looked at her old friend and sighed, "Still, I don't understand why you guys didn't even try to make it work out."

"We weren't in love Ino. Not the way you and Shikamaru are. It was one time. One irresponsible night after that lead we had on Naruto turned out to be nothing. We were both just so depressed, I guess we needed to feel something."

Ino walked up to her friend and gave her a hug, "I'll call you tomorrow okay?"

Sakura nodded as Ino left and she went into the kitchen to start dinner.

The next day Sakura arrived at Hokage tower to find a rare sight. Tsunade was actually sober for once and looking very serious as she told Sakura about a report she had received early in the morning.

"There's a village to the south that has rumors going around of demons living in the mountains. Recently, some people have even begun to vanish. I want you to handle this personally Sakura. You'll be heading out in three days along with Neji, Kiba, and Sasuke."

Sakura's heart skipped a bit with the mention of Sasuke's name but no reaction showed on the outside. She simply bowed and said, "Yes, Tsunade-sensei." Before leaving the room.

As she walked down the hall she dared to think that maybe this could be the lead they'd been waiting for. Any rumor of demons could mean by some slim chance that Naruto was involved, and she knew she couldn't afford to miss anything when she arrived to investigate.

**Raye Sun: **Yay first chapter done! Please make sure to review! I promise you'll definitely be seeing Naruto in the future but for now I've got to set the story and Sakura is the best person to do that. Thanks for reading!


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